11/2/09
One of the top three “must see reviewed” lenses in the survey this past September (see 9/6 entry below) is the Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II. Thanks to Richard in sunny California, I have a complete review ready for you of just that lens. A good way to support this site, and help others, is to send me your after-market or Sony/Minolta AF lens to check out —of course one that I haven’t reviewed yet! See the survey for examples.
This Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 lens turned in a real good performance, and is worth considering if you use an APS-C camera. It seems to me it may be a little sharper, especially around the periphery than the Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8 EX DC macro lens also reviewed here. I didn’t have the Sigma on hand for comparison, so I’m speaking from memory.
On a minor note; I’m going to do a quick comp of the Tamron lens and the Sony CZ 16-80mm, mostly to check out any possible differences in sharpness at the same apertures, using a couple of the same focal lengths.